plusFORE, December 2014
of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer regarding a proposal to convert a large portion of the 76 acre property into what Hansen called a soccer mecca a plan aimed at reducing the course back to nine holes and using the balance of the land to house both a soccer academy and a 5000 seat stadium In March hundreds of impassioned area golfers attended an Oceanside City Council meeting to voice displeasure with the soccer plan while most supported an alternate proposal from the Ashworth fronted Goat Hill Partners LLC which laid out a vision for a peoples park Included in the Goat Hill Partners proposal was a 36 million investment in the property with plans for a clubhouse rebuild botanical garden community farm and course improvements overseen by celebrated architect Tom Doak working pro bono Three months later Ashworths proposal was accepted by the city and as of July 1 Goat Hills new chapter began Upgrades to the clubhouse and course are expected to extend over the next two years while the total renovation project has a five year purview Operating as a 501 c 3 nonprofit The Goats new operators dont simply see the revamp as plucking a few weeds and slapping fresh paint on a clubhouse This crew is approaching the welcome and massive task at hand with an approach which borders on the spiritual A bunch of hippies putting together a park Ashworth says But its a community project You have a chance to beautify your community and I just find that really attractive Ashworths history at Goat Hill located just 15 miles from his Linksoul headquarters runs back to high school matches in the mid 1970s When the city put out an RFP Request for Proposal seeking alternate uses for the public land in 2012 he wasnt about to stand outside the ropes I just couldnt sit on the sidelines and watch it disappear from our backyard he says adding that he isnt looking to make a dime on the project The thing is all the green spaces are going away Ashworth says And from my point of view the golf community is losing a lot of places like Goat Hill which are perfect for beginners kids and anybody really Its exactly what golf needs A shorter course thats fun to play doesnt cost very much and doesnt take that much time A shworth envisions Goat Hill serving as a community centerpiece He points to a recent volunteer day at The Goat that saw more than 50 people come out to help cut down trees pick up trash and clean up the driving range To me community is what golf is about he says When I started going to Scotland in the early 1990s I saw these beautiful little seaside communities where probably 80 percent of the people play golf Theyre just walking down the streets with their clubs and the baker is asking the lady at the hair salon Howd you play today Doris Its just so cool Theres such a spirit to it Ashworth sees such spirit beginning with golfs next generation and is encouraged that Goat Hill has become the home base of the North County Junior Golf Association NCJGA Among future plans for The Goat is an office dedicated to the NCJGA complete with a learning center and Caddie Academy Its a great opportunity says David Emerick a partner with Ashworth in Goat Hill Partners and director of the NCJGA Emerick who revived a defunct NCJGA in 1998 with his wife Marcia has worked to build the program from 15 members up to nearly 300 At Goat Hill both Ashworth and Emerick foresee a safe haven where growing great people precludes growing good golfers We like to develop kids interests in other things besides being the greatest golfer ever Emerick says We implemented a system where kids have to write a paragraph about a golf book before they get a club to practice We dont just want to give the kids everything we want them to earn it We cant keep them away now Ashworth says of the kids flocking to the property The first day they didnt know how to hold a golf club I was there when one of them took his first swing and he totally whiffed it by six inches But he had this big smile on his face And now he just hangs out at the course all the time and all the guys have been giving him lessons He and his brother and this other kid they dont have a dad and I dont know what the mom situation is They get bad grades in school and its just that point in time where they can take a left turn in life or they can take a right turn Or perhaps at Goat Hill theyll stroll right down the center of the fairway A bunch of hippies putting together a park Ashworth says But its a community project You have a chance to beautify your community and I just find that really attractive goat hill park photos by lauren milner
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